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A Blog for the Culinary-ChallengedMon, 03 Dec 2018 16:52:02 +0000en-UShourly1This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use.Broccoli – Chicken Alfredohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFumblingFoodie/~3/LVAQUnA5R8M/broccoli-chicken-alfredo.html
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]]>First I want to apologize for the quality of the photo. I moved a year ago to this new rural location and I still have not set up a decent spot for food photos.

The inspiration for this came from a recipe that arrived in an email from Pillsbury. On first glance I said to myself, “That looks quick and easy”. Then on second glance, I said, “Wait a minute. I’m cooking four things at once:

Pasta

Chicken

Broccoli

Alfredo Sauce

Then on third thought, I said to myself, “Start the water boiling for the pasta first…” and it turned out easy.

Using canned chicken breast chunks makes the job a lot easier. I used 2 cans of the Kirkland (Costco) brand, but Swanson or Hormel would be fine.

Ingredients

16oz Pasta, Rigitoni, Ziti, Farfalle, or Rotini

20-24oz Canned chicken breast chunks.

1 stick (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter

1 cup Whipping cream

2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1.5 cups broccoli florets

Method

Mise en Place:

Put a large pot of water on the stove over medium-high heat for the pasta. Put a medium-sized pot of water on the stove over medium-high heat for the broccoli. Place a bowl of cold water near the stove. Cut broccoli heads into florets if not already done. Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano if not already done.

Start the pasta and broccoli:

When both pots of water are boiling, put the pasta and broccoli into their respective pots.

After 2 minutes remove the broccoli from the boiling water and place it in the bowl of cold water to stop it cooking.

Start the Alfredo Sauce:

Put a smaller (2qt) saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the cream and Parmigiano Reggiano. Whisk together. Add salt to taste. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Let the sauce thicken. Then move it to a spot where you can keep it warm

Drain the Pasta and Broccoli:

When the pasta is done, drain it through a strainer or colander, then set aside. Likewise drain the broccoli through a strainer or colander.

Heat the Chicken:

Put a fry pan or saute pan with some oil on the stove over high heat. Heat the chicken. When the chicken is hot add the broccoli. Toss.

Serve:

Put some pasta on the plate. Top the pasta with the chicken-broccoli mixture. Then top that with the Alfredo sauce.

A few weeks ago I made a big batch of an awesome bolognese sauce (with ground beef, ground pork, and ground lamb). I vacuum-bagged it in individual servings and froze it. And now I’m going to have Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner. When I cook with bacon I buy applewood smoked bacon. Yesterday I bought 2 pounds of it and I just finished vacuum-bagging and freezing it, four slices to a bag.

]]>I want to provide you with a list of foodstuffs you can keep in the pantry for emergencies. Part 1 focused on breakfast. All this stuff has a very long self life and can sit in the back of your pantry for years.

“Dave, you don’t have hurricanes in Arizona, why do you stockpile this stuff?” Three reasons. There was a time when the revenue from my consulting business was spotty. I wanted to be prepared in case there was no money for groceries. Second, I now live out here in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains (elevation: 4000ft) There is always the chance of a freak winter snowstorm that might prohibit getting to the grocery store. Hence, I’ve done the research and try to keep food on hand.

Third, the Big City I used to live in is downwind of a nuclear power plant. While I never worried about the safety of the power plant itself, the news media is often guilty of sensationalism. If such a scare occured all the grocery stores would be cleaned out in a matter of hours.

If you are preparing for a hurricane or blizzard, your pantry needs to support you for a few days or weeks (whereas in the ‘no money for food’ scenario, I was planning for a few months). I’m sure you’ve seen the promotions by the big freeze-dried food companies like Mountain House, Wise, and Legacy. They are very expensive, though their 72-hour kits are reasonably priced. I have observed that Mountain House retailers seem to have a big promotional sale once or twice a year in which Mountain House products are steeply discounted. Wait for those sales.

It is far more economical however, to store common supermarket canned goods. Most canned goods have about a two year shelf life, so plan on rotating through them on a regular basis. Eat what you store and store what you eat. The beauty of this is that you can buy it a little at a time. Here are some suggestions:

Don’t turn up your nose like that. Spam is mostly just ham and pork shoulder, and the low sodium variety is pretty good. I make Spam Fried Rice with it. Diced and combined with a few eggs, it makes a very tasty quiche. Sweet Lady wife likes to put a thin slice of spam on her sandwiches. Dice it and add it to hashbrown potatoes for a hearty breakfast.

Canned Roast Beef

I haven’t experimented with canned roast beef a lot, but some roast beef, refried black beans, cheese, and Pace Picante Sauce all wrapped up in a tortilla makes a fine meal.

Canned Tuna

Canned tuna is so versatile. Mixed with some pasta and a can of Cream of Mushroom soup and you have Tuna and Noodles. Yum.

Canned Vegetables

Corn. Green Beans. Peas. Peas and Carrots. Spinach.

Canned Fruit

Peaches. Pears. Sweet Lady Wife loves mandarin oranges.

Canned Soups

Of course.

Longer Term Disaster Preparedness Items

Let’s say that you are stocking up for a longer-term emergency situation. Here are some items to consider:

Rice

I cook a lot of rice dishes, so I keep quite a bit on hand. (In fact I keep four kinds of rice: long grain white, brown, arborio, and bomba.) Long grain white rice or brown rice can be used to make Fried Rice or Rice Pilaf. Arborio rice makes a great Rissotto.

Flour

I discovered that a 25lb bag of flour at the warehouse store costs less that a ten pound bag at the supermarket. The last time I checked, a 50lb bag of flour at Winco was $14. I use a lot of flour: pie crusts, quiche crust, homemade pasta, etc. By buying a 50lb bag and storing it in a couple food-grade buckets, I need to buy flour only once every 2 years.

Pasta

Winco sells bulk pasta by the pound. I keep a few pounds of several kinds of pasta on hand. It sure beats making a last minute 50-mile-round-trip to the grocery store because I forgot the rigitoni.

Dried Beans

I confess, I love refried black beans. High in protein and fiber. We buy dried black beans in a 20lb bag and store them in a food grade bucket. 8 hours in the slo-cooker with some onion, salt, garlic, and cumin, and they are delicious. Depending upon your tastes, you could expend your emergency storage to include other types of beans as well as lentils (we love lentil soup)

What About the Cooking?

In an emergency situation you’ll probably be without electricity. We were without electricity out here for a day just because lightning struck a transformer. I have a gas BBQ grill on the back deck, and have two extra filled propane cylinders.

Water

You should assume 1 gallon per person per day. I’ve chosen the WaterBrick for my water storage. Yes, they are a bit expensive, but:

Each waterbrick holds 3.5 gallons.That’s 28 pounds and almost everyone can lift and carry 28 pounds.

]]>To my eastern seaboard and gulf coast friends, This post is for you.

I want to provide you with a list of foodstuffs you can keep in the pantry for emergencies such as a hurricane. All this stuff has a very long self life and can sit in the back of your pantry for years.

“Dave, you don’t have hurricanes in Arizona, why do you stockpile this stuff?” two reasons. There was a time when the revenue from my consulting business was spotty. I wanted to be prepared in case there was no money for groceries. Second, I now live out here in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains (elevation: 4000ft) There is always the chance of a freak winter snowstorm that might prohibit getting to the grocery store. Hence, I’ve done the research and try to keep food on hand.

In this post I’ll focus on breakfast, This is stuff you can buy a little at a time as you can afford to do so.

Eggs

I recommend OvaEasy Egg Crystals. When reconstituted they are identical to fresh eggs. Use them to make scrambled eggs just the same way you would with fresh eggs.

Bacon

Yoder’s Canned Bacon has been around for a long time. Each can contains 50-60 slices of precooked bacon. And it’s pretty good.

Hash Browns

It’s easy to find several brands and sizes of dehydrated hash browns on Amazon. I have the Golden Grill brand. Add a little hot water, let them soak it up and them drop them into the frying pan. These have a little bit shorter shelf life, so try to rotate through them. In other words, make using them part of your normal routine. Each time you open a box, order a replacement.

I confess. Mary Kitchen Corned Beef Hash is my favorite breakfast protein. I keep a dozen cans in the pantry and go through a couple canes a month. Eat it by itself or combine it with some hashbrowns and/or scrambled eggs for a heart breakfast.

Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mix

Keep a box of this stored inside an airtight plastic container along with a bottle of maple syrup.

OK, that’s it for breakfast. This gives you several different breakfasts so you have some variety.

]]>In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been into comfort food lately. There is something about living out here in the country that’s put me in a really good place. I’ve been craving a simple but meaty pasta dish lately, and this Baked Ziti hit the spot.

Add the pasta to the sauce. Stir to thoroughly coat the pasta. Add the ricotta by large spoonfulls. Gently stir it in.

Pour half the pasta/sauce mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle half the mozzarella and half the Parmigiano on it. Pour the remaining pasta/ziti mixture into the baking disk. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and half the Parmigiano on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

]]>This new house is designed with the kitchen at the center. I love that. After baking a batch of baguettes in the 400-degree oven however, I also discovered that it heats the house up nicely. Great in the winter, not-so great in the summer. That got me thinking about slow-cooker versions of some of my recipes. A quick browse through Amazon led me to The French Slow Cooker, by Michele Scicolone. French. I was hooked.

I’ve made her Chicken in Half Mourning (page 51) recipe, an adaptation of the classic French Chicken Demi-Deuil, I was blown away by how tasty, tender, and juicy the chicken was. In the past, I’ve rarely roasted a whole chicken, given the trussing, carving, and the subsequent messiness of picking the meat off the carcass. This however was different. This method involves little more that dropping a whole chicken into the slow-cooker, then coming back in 6 hours and feasting. When it’s done, just looking at the meat sternly makes it come cleanly off the bones.

It has motivated me to think about other ways of cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker. Of course, on the very next page is Chicken with Escargot Butter (page 52), and then there is Chicken in the Pot with Aioli (page 53), Chicken with Tarragon, Mustard, and Cream (page 54), and the classic Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (page 58). I’m going to be spending a lot of time in this cookbook.

We’ve moved out of the Big City to a little jewel of a place 50 miles out in the country. About a year ago, we decided that the value of our Big City house had risen high enough that we could achieve a long-held dream of owning a little place mortgage-free out in the country. We’re not too far out – it’s a 30-minute drive on good highway to a small town with a Safeway. I’m in the Big City once a week for my business and usually make a side trip to Costco and Whole Foods while I’m there.

In about 6 weeks, it will be the 1-year anniversary of saying goodbye to our Big City house and moving in to our country house. The downsizing wasn’t too drastic. This is a jewel of a place, 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, 1500 square feet on a quarter acre. The past year however has been a whirlwind of unpacking, arranging (I still don’t have the storage shed out back organized), scoping things out and making new friends. I now have a friend who raises chickens and I buy fresh eggs from him for 2 dollars per dozen.

It’s taken nearly a year, but life has started to settle down. There no longer any unpacked boxes in the living room. There is a brand-new KitchenAid double-oven range in the kitchen. Sweet Lady Wife has organized the pantry. I’m now to the point where I can resume doing what I love: cooking and blogging about it.

Recipes you see here may change a bit. For example, this house is designed with the kitchen in the center (one of the things we love about it). As a result though, using the oven heats up the whole house. So getting my breadmaking recipes tuned to the 4000-foot elevation will have to wait until summer is over. And I’m starting to adjust some of my recipes to use the slow-cooker instead of the oven. Look for a slow-cooker version of Julia Childs’ Boeuf Bourguignon appearing here soon. I have all the ingredients for a from-scratch devil’s food cake with chocolate buttercream frosting sitting here waiting until it cools down a bit.

In the meantime, I can sit on my back deck, enjoy the mountain view, some wine, brie, and a baguette. I can sit on my front porch at night and see the Big Dipper. Life is good.

I’ve been trying to lighten Sweet Lady Wife’s load lately, and so I’ve started preparing dinner on Friday as well as Sunday. I try to make the Friday meal something quick and easy, and this fits the bill nicely. It’s so simple there really is no recipe.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (That cuts down the cleanup effort). Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cut up your favorite veggies. We like to use red potatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Toss then in a bowl with about 2 tablespoons of olive out and your favorite seasonings. We like to use about half a package of the Urban Accents Veggie Roasters.

Cut up the bratwurst into bit-sized pieces. You could use almost any sausage. Note that you want to use uncooked sausage.

Put everything on the sheet pan. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.

]]>I know. I know. You come here for fine dining recipes, but I made this last night and it was so awesomely quick, easy, beautiful, and tasty I just had to share. It is an adaptation of this recipe at spam.com.

Ingedients

1 12oz can of ‘25% Less Sodium’ Spam.

2 eggs, beaten

2 carrots, diced

3 green onions, white and green part sliced crosswise

1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 yellow or red bell pepper

1 cup rice

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons Teriyaki sauce,

Add a tablespoon of oil to a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice. Stir and let the rice toast for a bit. Add 1-3/4 cup of water. Raise the heat. When the water starts to boil reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover. Let cook for 20 minutes. At the end of that time stir in a tablespoon of butter.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan. Add the Spam, carrots, onions, peas, and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until bell pepper and carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.